


Changing colors

by ammstar11



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Magic Gone Wrong, Oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-05 21:51:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17927015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammstar11/pseuds/ammstar11
Summary: When some of the campers decide to take it upon themselves to brighten up Nico's wardrobe things don't go quite as planned.Nico in a moment of panic uses his shadow travel powers before he's ready and is on the brink of fading and Will needs to find him fast.Not as intense as it sounds, but still serious, mostly just confusion and inability to understand the situation.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Black = Intense, Stressed  
> Brown = Troubled, Restless  
> Red = Rage, Anger  
> Orange = Aggressive, Irritated, Edgy, Sarcastic  
> Golden Yellow = Hope  
> Yellow = Confused, Puzzled, Incredulous, Curious  
> Yellow-Green = Worried  
> Lime Green = Shocked, Surprised  
> Emerald Green = Triumph, Hyper, Energetic, Mischievous  
> Dark Green = Disgusted, Ill, Nauseous  
> Teal = Alert, Nervous  
> Ice Blue = Fear, Scared, Panic  
> Light Blue = Sleepy, Tired  
> True Blue = Relaxed, Calm  
> Dark Blue = Bored  
> Blue-Violet = Serious, Confident, Concentrating  
> Violet = Happy, Pleased  
> Light Purple = Excited  
> Magenta = Embarrassed  
> Dark Pink = Silly  
> Light Pink = Flirty, Amused, Playful  
> White = Hollow, Blank, Void  
> Grey = Sad, Hopeless, Dejected, Discouraged, Gloomy  
> Blue-Grey = Sad for someone

Based on a post from tumblr

@burningpeachdelusionofchaos

The Iris cabin had been getting really tiered of the son of Hades walking around looking like a charcoal sketch all the time, so one day they devised a plan and teamed up with the Hecate cabin to charm Nico’s clothes so that they changed color with his mood. Of course no one would have ever expected the results that they got.

 

**Chapter 1**

“Do you really think that this is a good idea?” One of the Iris campers asked as they snuck into cabin 13 before sunrise with a member of the Hecate cabin.

“Shhh! Would you be quiet, the mist won’t work if he hears us!” The Hecate camper said as they clamped a hand over the other’s mouth.

The two of them had been selected by their cabins to sneak into the Hades cabin to charm Nico’s wardrobe, after much debating they had come up with the idea that Nico needed to wear more colors but they figured that if they just said something he wouldn’t be happy, and if they just dyed all of his clothes then he’d really be mad. So here they were Iris and Hecate cabins teamed up to cast a charm on all of the son of Hades’ clothes so that like a mood ring, they would change colors depending on what he was feeling.

They had hidden themselves as best they could from the patrol harpies while they snuck into Nico’s cabin, now all they needed to do was enchant his clothes and get out before he woke up.

“Over here.” The Iris camper whispered and motioned to where Nico stored his things. The two of them carefully laid everything out neatly and set to work with the spell, once that was done they put everything back the way it was and quietly made their way back out. All that was left now was to wait and see what happened.

…

Nico woke up and sat in bed for a few minutes while he let the sleep fade from his mind. Once he was fully awake he crawled out of bed and got ready for the day. He grabbed a simple pair of dark jeans and a dark grey t-shirt and threw them on before heading out to breakfast at the dining pavilion. When he stepped outside he had to shield his eyes from the glare of the early morning sun, without him noticing his shirt momentarily changed color to orange but quickly returned to its original shade of dark grey.

As Nico was walking someone ran up beside him and placed an arm over his shoulder catching him by surprise, his shirt and jeans both turned lime green for a split second but returned to normal as he turned and saw Jason standing next to him.

“Oh it’s you, what do you want Jason?” Nico asked as he slipped out from under the other boy’s arm.

Jason stood there trying to figure out if he had really just seen Nico’s clothes change color, it was so fast he wasn’t sure if maybe he had just imagined it. “Did… Never mind, I thought I’d walk with you to breakfast.”

Nico shrugged not really noticing the change in what his friend had been about to say. “Sure.”

The two of them carried on, Nico just walking as if everything was normal meanwhile Jason kept glancing over at the younger boy to see if the weird color change would happen again.

…

Over behind one of the cabins stood the two half-bloods that had placed the charm on Nico’s clothes, they had seen it working but had noticed that it only lasted a very short time and seemed to only occur with intense emotions, never the less their plan had worked, all that was left was to see how well and if the son of Hades would end up sending an army of skeletons after both cabins when this was all over with.

…

Nico sat down at the table designated to the children of the Big Three so that they didn’t have to sit alone for the remainder of the summer. Jason sat down next to him still glancing over from time to time and Nico had noticed and it was starting to bug him, which was made apparent when his shirt turned orange once more as he turned to look at the blond.

“What?”

Jason continued to stare with his mouth opening and closing but no words came out.

Nico raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously what is up with you this morning?” Nico asked as he reached for his glass that filled with orange juice.

Jason finally found his voice and managed to stammer out his thoughts. “What is up with me? What is up with your clothes?” He pointed at Nico’s clothing but by then they had returned to their original colors again.

Nico looked down at himself and then back at his friend with a puzzled look and once more his shirt changed right before the son of Jupiter’s eyes, this time becoming yellow. Jason quickly pointed to show Nico what he meant and this time Nico saw what was happening just before it turned back to normal.

Nico jumped up as his clothes turned a bright lime green and then quickly turned to teal and to ice blue then to a bright magenta as his emotions ranged from shocked, nervous, panicked, and embarrassed that this was happening and where everyone could see.

Because of his sudden movement and the quick succession of bright colors flashing over his clothing most people had stopped what they were doing to look at him.

“W-What?! What’s happening?!” he asked not really knowing who to direct the question to but still wanting to know. His shirt and pants changed to more of a yellow- green color now but went right back to magenta and then to brown.

He looked up to see that more of his friends had arrived and were now standing nearby looking at him sort of shocked.

Not wanting to hear what they might have to say he looked around quickly and spied a spot that was more shaded than the rest and ran for it knowing that this was probably not a great idea but needing to get away so that he could figure this out, he jumped into the shadows. As the shadows engulfed him he heard cries of alarm from his friends and he heard one voice above all shouting at him.

“Nico No!”

But he was already gone.

…

Nico re-emerged in some room in what seemed to be the Big house. He was thankful that his random jump hadn’t taken him somewhere dangerous or too far away, and he was especially grateful that he hadn’t faded and become one with the shadows, though he noted that his fingertips weren’t all that solid and he hoped that the effects were only temporary and would return to normal soon.

He found a spot by the window and sat their hoping that the sunlight would help take away the chill that lingered after shadow traveling. He leaned his head back against the wall as his eyes drooped slightly, he was still weary after even short jumps and he knew that if Will caught up with him after this he would get a lecture on using his Underworld-y powers without doctor’s consent. As he thought about this his clothes changed from a lime green to light blue to light pink to orange but returned to their regular colors as he closed his eyes to rest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Black = Intense, Stressed  
> Brown = Troubled, Restless  
> Red = Rage, Anger  
> Orange = Aggressive, Irritated, Edgy, Sarcastic  
> Golden Yellow = Hope  
> Yellow = Confused, Puzzled, Incredulous, Curious  
> Yellow-Green = Worried  
> Lime Green = Shocked, Surprised  
> Emerald Green = Triumph, Hyper, Energetic, Mischievous  
> Dark Green = Disgusted, Ill, Nauseous  
> Teal = Alert, Nervous  
> Ice Blue = Fear, Scared, Panic  
> Light Blue = Sleepy, Tired  
> True Blue = Relaxed, Calm  
> Dark Blue = Bored  
> Blue-Violet = Serious, Confident, Concentrating  
> Violet = Happy, Pleased  
> Light Purple = Excited  
> Magenta = Embarrassed  
> Dark Pink = Silly  
> Light Pink = Flirty, Amused, Playful  
> White = Hollow, Blank, Void  
> Grey = Sad, Hopeless, Dejected, Discouraged, Gloomy  
> Blue-Grey = Sad for someone

“Di Immortals! What was that?” Annabeth said as she came over to where Jason sat stunned after what had just happened.

Jason had no words though; he was just as lost as the others so all he could do was shake his head to let them know that he was just as clueless about it as them.

Percy and Piper had arrived with Annabeth just in time to see Nico’s clothes change color before he dashed off into the shadows. They had all called out to him to get him to stop but he was already gone.

They left everything at the table and split up to go look around camp to try and find their friend not realizing that someone had already beaten them to it.

…

From across the dinning pavilion the Iris and Hecate cabins had witnessed what their little charm had done and they all felt bad for unintentionally embarrassing the son of Hades in front of whole camp causing him to do something dangerous like shadow travel away, and judging by how fast Will Solace took off running towards the infirmary it was probably bad.

…

“Nico NO!” Will called out but it had been too late, Nico had already dived into the shadows and vanished.

Without a second though Will jumped up and ran as fast as he could towards the infirmary to get what he would need to help Nico if the effects of shadow traveling lasted. There was no time to waste so he had to hurry.

Will didn’t know what he would do if Nico faded because he saw no other option but to run away in his moment of confusion, but he couldn’t let himself dwell on those thoughts right now, he just needed to focus on finding the ingredients that Coach Hedge had taught him for the nature magic that worked best for Nico.

He rushed around trying to get everything together but he was missing just one thing, Unicorn draught and he was about to start panicking but then he remembered that there was some in a store room on the second floor of the Big House so he took off running to get it as soon as he could.

They didn’t even know where Nico was or what condition he was in, if he was about to fade or-

Will drew up short as he entered the store room and saw Nico leaning against the wall by the window with sunlight falling on him.

Will snapped out of his shock at finding him there and rushed over to check what sort of state he was in, after finding that he was mostly solid except for the tips of his fingers and that he was only sleeping due to the energy drain the jump must have caused Will let out a sigh of relief.

Will pulled out the Coach’s cure and went and grabbed a small bottle of Unicorn draught and brought them back to where Nico lay and set to work healing the son of Hades.

…

When Nico woke up he blinked open his eyes for a second before they blew wide upon realizing that he wasn’t alone in the room and his clothes flashed from lime green to ice blue to teal and finally to true blue upon seeing who was sitting next to him.

Will Solace sat next to Nico and leaned against the cabinet next to him, his head resting on it. Nico noticed that the healer seemed worn out and for a brief instant his clothes flashed yellow-green but then took on a more golden yellow tone when he realized that Will had been holding his hand.

Nico shook that thought away, Will had probably just been checking to see if the darkness was going to cause him to fade and for a second Nico’s clothes flashed a dull grey with his disappointment.

Nico jumped a bit when Will stirred and woke up.

Will turned and smiled at Nico when he realized that he was awake and well and Nico felt his cheeks heat up a bit and his clothes turned a faint violet upon seeing that smile. If Will noticed he didn’t say anything about either.

“Please don’t scare us like that again Deathboy.” He said still smiling at Nico, meanwhile Nico tried for more of an annoyed pout that he really didn’t feel.

“Don’t call me that.” But when his shirt flashed light pink he really did feel annoyed and it turned orange instead.

_Ah so that’s it…_

Well now Nico had an idea of what was going on.

“I think someone hexed me.” he said as the thought occurred to him and he pulled at his shirt to watch it take on a more intense and really offensive shade of orange that quickly changed to lime green then magenta when he felt Will squeeze his hand and it occurred to him that he hadn’t let go yet. Yup this time he was definitely blushing.

“I doubt it’s a curse, remember my dad is the god of curses so I can tell you that much, it was probably just a prank or something.” Will said reassuringly and Nico felt himself relax and watched as his clothes turned into a nice shade of true blue, he had to admit that without the entire camp witnessing it this color changing thing was kind of interesting.

Suddenly Will let out an amused laugh causing Nico to look at him and his clothes to change to yellow, which only made Will laugh more and Nico to raise a curious brow to him.

“What?” he asked because he had no idea what the other boy could suddenly find so funny.

Will took a breath to calm himself down and smiled at Nico again, his eyes still shining with laughter and Nico’s clothes took on a light pink hue.

“It’s just that it’s almost like you’re a giant mood ring or something.”

Nico’s clothes turned yellow again as he knitted his brows together.

“A what?” he had no idea of what Will was talking about.

Will seemed a bit surprized that Nico didn’t know what he was talking about but it passed by fast as he started to explain. “They’re these accessories that have these stones that change color according to what mood you’re in, hence the name, and each color has a specific meaning.” he paused for a moment then smiled mischievously at Nico. “So Deathboy, what are you feeling now?”

Will didn’t need a color chart to tell him what the bright magenta meant, the deep blush covering Nico’s face was a good enough indicator.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure out how to undo whatever this is. I doubt that whoever is responsible for this meant to upset you.” his face turned stern as he looked Nico directly in the eye, “And when I say ‘no Underworld-y magic’ I mean absolutely No Underworld-y magic! Do you understand how dangerous that was? It’s a good thing that Coach Hedge had told me how to help you if you were starting to fade again; I was really scared you know!” Wills voice had risen a bit by the end of this and Nico couldn’t do much more than sit there looking down at the floor.

“I panicked okay? I didn’t know what was going on so I got out of there the fastest way I could, I wasn’t really thinking about it okay?” Nico said and Will released his hand to cross his arms over his chest as he sat back and stared at Nico, whose clothes had gone back to their usual color but took on a different shade of grey at the loss of the other’s touch though he wanted to deny it.

But when Will’s eyes softened once more when he glanced at him and he let out a steady breath Nico felt better. “Just promise me that you won’t do that again okay?”

The concern in Will’s voice really touched Nico’s heart and he nodded in response. “Okay, I promise I won’t freak out like that again.”

The amount of relief that showed on Wills face was amazing. “Good, now come on, everyone was really worried about you. You should be able to stand and walk now, but I still want you to spend the rest of the day in the infirmary so that I can keep an eye on you.” he winked at Nico as he helped him to his feet. “Plus there’s not likely to be anyone else around so you don’t have to worry about anyone else seeing your mood ring outfit.”

Nico smirked. “Except you because you’re really enjoying this right now aren’t you?” his clothes had gone light pink again and he chalked that up to his teasing mood.

Will tried for a nonchalant attitude as he shrugged. “Hmm maybe, maybe I just like the fact that you can look good in any color.”

And there was the magenta again stronger than ever, his blush too.

_Stupid son of Apollo and his stupid complements…_

“Whatever.” Nico said as he followed Will out of the room to go find his friends. But the color again changed to gold as he felt more hopeful after hearing that and then a deep violet before he managed to finally get his emotions in check.

By the time they left the upper level of the Big House and his clothes returned to normal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Black = Intense, Stressed  
> Brown = Troubled, Restless  
> Red = Rage, Anger  
> Orange = Aggressive, Irritated, Edgy, Sarcastic  
> Golden Yellow = Hope  
> Yellow = Confused, Puzzled, Incredulous, Curious  
> Yellow-Green = Worried  
> Lime Green = Shocked, Surprised  
> Emerald Green = Triumph, Hyper, Energetic, Mischievous  
> Dark Green = Disgusted, Ill, Nauseous  
> Teal = Alert, Nervous   
> Ice Blue = Fear, Scared, Panic  
> Light Blue = Sleepy, Tired  
> True Blue = Relaxed, Calm  
> Dark Blue = Bored  
> Blue-Violet = Serious, Confident, Concentrating  
> Violet = Happy, Pleased  
> Light Purple = Excited  
> Magenta = Embarrassed  
> Dark Pink = Silly  
> Light Pink = Flirty, Amused, Playful  
> White = Hollow, Blank, Void  
> Grey = Sad, Hopeless, Dejected, Discouraged, Gloomy  
> Blue-Grey = Sad for someone

Well Will had been right about people being worried, when they had found their friends they had been a mix of relieved and furious, Nico didn’t need a spell to see that clearly.

When they had first seen that Nico had been found, Percy and Jason rushed over and crushed him in a tight hug and then proceeded to yell at him though they let up a bit when they noticed that his clothes had started to change to brown and black and grey.

They had agreed to go to the infirmary for the sake of privacy and to make sure that Nico wasn’t pushing himself. Once there Will had Nico go lay down on one of the beds while he explained to the others how he had found Nico upstairs.

“When he jumped into the shadows I hurried here to get the cure that Coach Hedge had told me about but when I realized that I was missing part of it I went up to the store room to find it and that’s where I found him.”

Nico lay curled up on the bed and breathed steadily after dozing off, lingering effects of his short jump it seemed were still there Will could tell, he had seen Nico’s clothes flash light blue before he laid down and not long after that he had been asleep.

“I’m not sure if it was supposed to be a prank or what but I have a feeling I know who the culprits are, and I already assured Nico that it wasn’t a curse.”

At that Percy and Jason both seemed like a weight had been lifted from them and Piper and Annabeth watched Nico as he slept, every now and then his clothes would change briefly.

…

Annabeth turned back to Will.

“Well I’m sure that he’s going to be okay here so I guess we’ll just leave you to watch over him for us.” she smiled at Will, she had noted how the colors seemed to shift more when Will was talking or closer to Nico so she had a feeling she knew what was happening. “Come on Seaweed Brian, we should let him be for now. Until he’s better why don’t you guys come help Piper and I with sword training?” she grasped Percy’s hand and pulled him towards the door and Piper did the same with Jason, before leaving the room though Piper looked back at Nico and Will in turn and smiled before leaving.

…

A couple of hours later Nico woke up looking more refreshed, Will caught the glimpse of violet before Nico managed to gain control over his emotions and his clothes returned to normal again. Will bit back a smile of amusement before he spoke. “So I take it that you’re feeling better now?”

Nico nodded as he stretched after sitting up on the edge of the bed. “I know it was stupid so you don’t have to remind me again, but since it was just a small jump it didn’t take as much out of me.”

Will was glad that Nico understood why he had been upset with him before, at least the son of Hades knew he had messed up, but all in all Will was just so thankful that he was safe. “Well that’s good, no need for a continuation of the usual lecture then.” he smiled at Nico to let him know that he wasn’t upset anymore, just relieved.

Nico returned the smile, a mix of colors showing faintly as he seemed to fight down the effects of the spell, but Will had seen small amounts of light pink, violet, gold and true blue. He still didn’t know what all of them meant but he could just tell that they were positive emotions and for that he was glad because it meant that Nico was happy despite how little he let others see, he wasn’t devoid of those emotions.

“Now if only we had an idea as to why this whole mess was happening.” Nico said.

“Oh I think we can help you with that.”

Both Nico and Will turned towards the door to see Lou Ellen and Butch standing in the doorway of the infirmary room, and standing just behind them were some campers from the Iris and Hecate cabins.

Will already having had his suspicions about who was behind this just leaned back against his desk and waited for the explanation.

The younger campers standing back took a few steps forward into the room.

“We’re sorry we upset you Nico, we didn’t know that would happen or that you might get hurt because of it.” The Hecate camper started, she looked to be about twelve or thirteen and the regret was evident on her face as she apologized. “We just thought that we could add some color to your wardrobe because you always wear such dark or dreary colors.”

Will covered his mouth to hide a smile because he agreed with them on that.

“We weren’t sure how it would work, we just knew that the colors would change, we’re really, really sorry Nico.” The Iris camper was a boy about ten or so, he also seemed as earnest in his apology as his, accomplish?

Will knew that they hadn’t meant any harm by it and he could tell by glancing at Nico that he understood this too.

…

“It’s okay, really. I’m still not used to being around a lot of people and don’t know any other way to react to things then to fight or run, I over reacted to the situation.” Nico said as he glanced over at Will briefly before returning his attention back to the others. “I guess I could add more color to my wardrobe, but nothing hideous.” he shuddered thinking back to the tropical shirt he had to wear on his trip back from the ancient lands.

The younger campers seemed to perk up at this. “We can help!”

Will, Lou Ellen and Butch laughed and Nico grinned at their enthusiasm.

“On one condition, you get rid of whatever it is that you did to my stuff.” Nico added.

The kids agreed happily, it seemed that after the incident at breakfast those involved in this little plan went to the older campers in their cabins to explain what they had done and together they had found a way to revers it, though all involved would have to face the consequences of their actions still. These two having been the ones to carry the plan through were the ones chosen to come and apologize for all involved.

“And the next time you guys have a problem with my clothes, just come and tell me okay?” Nico said getting up from the bed. He also glanced sidelong at Will for a second including him in this as well.

“Deal.” Came three voices in response causing Nico to smirk.

…

It was dinner time now and everything had returned to normal, Nico had his plain old clothes back. The kids had lifted the charm from all of his belongings that had been affected and as a gift of apology they had also given him a couple of woven bracelets with plenty of color for him to wear which he accepted gladly.

Nico now sat at his usual table with his friends who were all happy to see that he was okay and that everything was back to normal.

“So Will said that you guys went to practice sword fighting while I was out, how’d that go?” Nico asked the girls who had joined them at their table.

“It’s different than using a knife but I think we’re really getting the hang of this.” Piper said.

“That’s great; I’ll have to try sparring with you at some point then.” Nico replied.

While they spoke Will came over and placed something in front of Nico before he headed back to his table.

Nico paused and looked down to see a small box on the table in front of him.

After a couple of heartbeats Jason poked Nico in the side to get his attention causing him to jump slightly. “Open it.”

Everyone was curious to see what it could be so they all leaned in for a better look.

Just as curious as the others Nico needed no more prodding so he undid the little ribbon and opened the box to reveal a silver bracelet with a sun shaped charm on it and a strange little gem in it.

“Oh look it has a mood stone in it.” Piper said as Nico lifted the bracelet out of the box, he looked over at her with a puzzled look on his face.

“I thought those were for rings.”

Piper shook her head. “They can be on pretty much any piece of jewelry as long as it has contact with your skin so that it can change color.”

Nico looked closer at it as he held it in his hand and watched as it slowly started to change color; he glanced back at the box and saw a small piece of paper that indicated what each color meant.

**_Violet = Happy_ **

He grinned as he unclasped it and then fastened it around his wrist with his other new accessories.

Nico looked over towards the Apollo table and saw Will looking his way. Nico smiled and raised his wrist high enough to show Will that he was wearing it and that he loved it.

Will smiled brightly in return and lifted his own writs to reveal a glint of silver there.

**The end.**


End file.
